


Crying Lightning

by hurlocktacos



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-24 05:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2570543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hurlocktacos/pseuds/hurlocktacos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charon has a chance at a new beginning, with a new employer. A new employer that not only indulges him in his brutal nature, but is also reviving long dead emotions, and needs. Charon/FLW (Ratings will change)( I also post this on FF)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“It’s not far Charon, in fact we can be there by tonight!” The Vaultie said with a wide grin to her almost silent companion. He grumbled, the vault dweller still hadn’t decided whether a grumble was positive or negative. The complextities of her new companion would have to wait.However she knew that he was talented with a shotgun, and he took orders from her.At this point that was all she needed. The small piece of paper she had hidden away meant that her enemies were now his, and his enemies were not long for this earth.   
“No more hiding, no more scurrying around like a rat! No more running away like a bitty little bug neither. No sir with your help big boy, i’m going to be a name that these wastelanders remember!” The Vaultie spoke almost shaking from excitement , The Vaultie had plans, plans about her future, her father, the death of a man by the name of Moriarty and many others but all of them would have to wait. The raiders of the Super Duper Mart were the first on her list. 

“Here is close enough, I suggest we wait here until nightfall.” Charon’s said as they ducked behind a car.   
“Last time I was here there was was maybe ten of them, I was clumsy and they heard me creeping by. They shot at me, a couple connected. They laughed, and all I could do was cry and run. How pathetic is that?” A few tears made their way down the Vaultie’s face as she told her story. She quickly rubbed them away leaving a streak of dirt across her face, her still soft face. 

“I will kill them all if that is what you wish of me mistress.” Charon spoke, a casualness to his voice that made the Vaultie smile. This was his element, this is what he was best at. The Vaultie stared her companion for a brief moment, her eyes wandered from his feet all the way up to his pale eyes. Her lips forming a wicked grin, she reached a hand up and placed it on his large bicep.   
“Yes Charon that is exactly what I wish of you.”

It was glorious, Charon moved with a steady pace, ducking behind cash registers when necessary, twisting and turning in between the aisles as the raiders emptied clips in an attempt to keep the giant ghoul at bay. As if it were a dance, Charon would dodge, sidestep,raise the shotgun to his shoulder, and with surgical precision he would pull the trigger. Raiders mutilated corpses fell to the ground.Skull fragments flew into the air as the raw stench of burned flesh, blood and hot metal permeated the air, making the Vaulties unblinking eyes water. She watched mesmerized as her new bodyguard made quick work of the raiders she had had so much trouble with. She had stayed out of the fight altogether, until she saw a sniper readying his rifle in order to take down the killer ghoul who was making short work of his friends. Taking a deep breath the Vaultie picked up her rifle, aiming down the sights. Her target as well was lining up his shot.   
“Just like shooting radraoches.” The Vaultie whispered as she pulled the trigger.   
The bullet connected with the snipers skull, a squeal of triumph escaped the Vaulties lips. She turned quickly to see that Charon was nearly done. He had gunned down every raider inside the Super Duper Mart. Charon was now stalking towards a raider who legs had been blown away. The raider was pleading for mercy as he attempted to crawl away from Charon. It was a pathetic sight, seeing a once arrogant warrior blithering and babbling as he dragged himself across the floor. The Vaultie approached Charon slowly, Charon turned meeting the Vaulties gaze.   
“ You wanted me to kill all of them, is this correct mistress?” Charon asked, watching the Vaultie wipe her sweaty palms along her vault suit, her eyes wide staring at the mutilated raider. She nodded slowly, never taking her eyes off the raider.   
“What's the matter, huh?! Can't stand the sight of your own blood?” Charon said, the corners of his mouth turning up in a menacing smile. He raised his shotgun and took aim, the Vaultie’s heart quickened, ready to see the raider blown into bits. Click. Charon grunted looking at his gun, he reached into his pockets, empty as well.  
“ I …..m-might have some bullets for that. “ The vaulites voice shaking as she began to reach for her pack.   
“ No need mistress.” Charon dropped his gun and took a step towards the raider.   
The Vaultie knew she should have shut her eyes or looked away, but she couldn’t, they were stuck on the raider. In one fluid motion Charon kneeled down on one knee, placing his hand on the raiders screaming face and with a tight grip began pummeling the raiders head into the concrete floor. The crunching sound as his skull began breaking apart rang in the Vaulties ears. Stomach acid and bile began forcing itself up the Vaulties throat, she clenched her fists and swallowed it down. The blood splattering across the floor, onto Charon’s armor, some drops even landing on the Vaulties shoe. He was dead after the first pummel, but Charon continued until the raiders face was no longer clinging to his skull, almost looking like Charon was holding a mask. Charon stood up, dropping the tattered skin in his hand, it fell with a ‘plop’ and a slight splash as it landed in the puddle of blood.   
“Fuck that, fuck that!” The Vaultie choked out before steadying herself on a shelf with one hand and proceeded to spew the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Even though seeing Charon obliterate the raider had excited her, the sound was the cherry on top of the macabre cake.She was overcome with a mixture of excitement and terror, to the point that she had to vomit. She shook as she dry heaved, at this point Charon had made his way closer to her.  
“ Are you well mistress? “ Charon asked, his gaze adding to the knots in her stomach.   
The Vaultie glanced up at the intimidating ghoul, trying to regain her strength, trying to wipe puke from her face with dignity.   
“ Why did you do that?” The Vaultie muttered as she straightened herself out, rubbing out wrinkles in her vault suit.   
“ I do not understand. Did I not follow your command?” Charon spoke, the Vaultie squinted at him, the way he spoke it was straight to the point, very precise, respectful and yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that she could sense sarcasm, and smugness. As if he were laughing at her behind his calm demeanor.   
“ If I could speak freely?” Charon asked, following the Vaultie around as she began looting the corpses of the raiders.   
“Of course Charon I always want you to speak freely.” The Vaultie stated carefully avoiding the blood and charred portions of the raiders body as she went through the pockets .  
“ Perhaps my methods of disposable are too extreme for you, I will look for alternatives next time.” Charon spoke, his mouth slightly twitching, the Vaultie catching it in the corner of her eye. She immediately stood up, standing as tall as she could starring the giant ghoul in the face.   
“ Are you laughing at me?” She asked him, attempting to look and sound intimidating.   
“Of course not mistress. I apologize, under Azrukhal’s employment he pushed me to the edges of my brutality, always testing what I was capable of…” Charon began, the Vaultie dropped her tough facade, her eyes no longer in an angry squint. She interrupted him by placing her hand on his arm.   
“ I am not Azrukhal. I will never treat you as he did. We have a lot of details to iron out big boy. But first did you want to do that to the raider, or did you just assume it was expected?” The Vaultie had grown serious, no longer angry but serious all the same. “ Be totally honest.”  
“ Both.” Charon didn’t look at her when he said it. He was conflicted, for the first time he cared what his employer thought of him. He did not want her to see him as the monster that he was, he felt as though he could have started fresh with his new employer. He had let his demons slip, he had not locked the demon that enjoyed killing, and mutilating inside of him away. He finally turned his eyes towards her half expecting to see horror in her eyes but he didn’t what he saw was the exact opposite. The same wicked smile she had first seen him was plastered across her face.   
He had seen the door of the ninth circle swing open, he in his usual spot serving as a bouncer in the small bar. She had walked in unsure of herself, she was wearing a vault suit, not that that was what gave her away as a vault dweller. It was her soft face, only slightly sunburned, her skin still pale underneath. Her curves still unaffected by malnutrition, and slight starvation. She had been biting her lip as she looked around, when she had finally seen Charon her eyes widened slightly and her lips curved into a wicked grin. She sauntered over, her eyes burning holes into Charon. He had felt hot under his leather armor, it was suddenly too heavy for him. Anger rose up in him, he had once killed a super mutant with a only a knife, some smoothskin brat shouldn’t be making him this nervous. As she came closer he gave a grunt as his eyes met with hers. The grin was gone, but the excitement was still in her eyes. He noticed that her lips weren’t chapped, nor were they dry, it was a rare sight to see. She parted her full, unchapped, hydrated lips to say something.   
“No. Go talk to Azurkhal.” Charon said, happy that it came exactly as it always did. Not a single waiver in his voice.   
“I just…” She started again, her brows furrowing.   
“ Don’t make me say it again.” Charon threatened making sure he growled out the last few syllables, leaning forward slightly, narrowing his eyes, making sure the smoothskin knew he meant business. Now most ghouls and especially humans would back up, jump back, gasp, maybe even begin to cry, at Charon’s approach, throw their hands in front of them, apologize even. Charon always relished in this, but the smoothskin didn't move. She smiled, a smile that made him question every ghoul human interaction he had ever had. It was a kind of an excited smirk, as if her lover had just whispered something dirty into her ear.   
“ Or what big boy? I’d like to see.” The smirk stuck to her face, her eyes roaming from his feet, up, lingering on his biceps and finally his face. With that she turned on her heel, and walked towards the bar. She engaged in a long conversation with Azurkhal, glancing over her shoulder at Charon every few minutes.   
“ I’ll give you an hour with him, for that many caps. Maybe if you find out how skilled he is, you’ll up your offer.” Azurkhal laugh rang through the small bar, his emphasis on the word skilled made Charon’s stomach churn. The smoothskin lifted her bag removing a box, when she opened it caused Azurkhal’s face to light up.   
“ Ultrajet, made for ghouls by ghouls, guaranteed to keep your ghoulies peaking. There’s more than enough here to cover the cost of our deal.” The smoothskin’s smug smile made Charon uneasy. As happy as he was that he may be leaving Azurchals employment, there was no doubt that there was more to this smoothskin than met the eye. In her vault suit she seemed so sweet and innocent, like a delicate cactus flower, but her eyes, and the impish grin that graced her face alluded to so much more.   
“You have a deal.” That’s all Charon heard, everything else was drowned out by his own heartbeat. He was going to be free of Azurchal. The smoothskin shook hands with Azurchal, Charon watched as the contract was put into the smoothskin’s hand. She got up, slipping the contract into her vault suit. She parted her lips to say something , in a confusion of emotion, Charon reverted back to what he knew.  
“ Talk to Azra..”   
“Oh no big boy, none of that. I just bought your contract. You work for me now.” The villainous grin appearing on her face again. She didn’t even flinch when Charon shot down Azrurchal, she simply reached over the bar and grabbed her box of chems, and asked if he was ready to go. 

Looking at her now, her smile stuck to her like cake crumbs, he realized that even though she was different from Azurchal, she still enjoyed his brutality.   
“ It’s just that…when I get overwhelmed I puke. Its kind of pathetic.”  
“ I apologize mistress.” Charon replied efficient and straight to the point.   
“ No. No that was absolutely brilliant. All that red splashing everywhere, so much colour! I was overwhelmed but in a good way “ The excitement had returned to the Vaultie. “ Big boy, i’m going to have to ask you to do that again in the near future. If that’s okay with you.”  
“ I do as you command mistress.” Charon replied.  
“ First and foremost, do not call me that anymore. I know I have your contract, but I don’t like that one bit. My name is Yolandi, please use that.” She spoke softly, and she was touching him again. Charon grunted in agreement, he could not use words at the present moment, too many emotions were attempting to connect in his brain, emotions that he thought were long dead. She was smiling at him, she was touching his skin, something most smooth skins would never do to a ghoul, let alone a ghoul like him, and she was saying please, something not a single employer he had, had ever done.   
“ Also, if I ask you to do something, and you don’t want to it’s important you let me know. I don’t want you doing anything you don’t want do.” She looked down and noticed her hand was still on him, she quickly removed it. What had he done? Had he made a sound, had he scared her?  
“ Sorry I keep touching you, is that okay with you?” She asked him so sincerely, she was asking for his consent, He could only nod.   
“ Also speak freely, don’t hide behind carefully structured sentences, and polite tones. If i’m being a fucking idiot please tell me.” She giggled. “ But seriously, next person on my list...i’ll be honest, it won't be like this. There won’t be a glorious gunfight, or a battle of any sort. We are going to go to Megaton and murder a scumfuck named Moriarty. Is that okay with you?” She looked at him wanting a genuine answer.   
“ If you want him dead, then I assume he deserves it. I’ve got your back.” He ground out the words, finally hushing all the unwanted thoughts and emotions coursing through him. Soon they would head out into the wasteland, he could not be distracted by a single thought. His objective is to protect Yolandi at all costs, to do what he is told. For the first time in what seemed like centuries, he was content with who held his contract.


	2. Visiting Moriarty

Gob had taken too long, well in Moriarty's opinion anyway. Nova watched helpless as Moriarty took his morning anger out on poor Gob. The scrawny ghoul had become accustomed to these beatings, he took the usual defense technique of covering his face and hoping for the best. Gob didn't deserve the constant abuse, hell either did Nova, but they were stuck. Trapped by debt,debt created by a lying abusive boss. The abuse was never this bad, until Gob told the little vaultie about the terminal in the back when she had returned caked in blood from Moriarty's job. Nova guessed he was afraid Moriarty would stick her in the same 'contract' as he and Nova were in. He told her to take the caps, read the terminal and get the hell out of dodge. He felt bad for her, and risked his neck, even giving the vaultie a discount and how did she repay him? By leaving him to rot in the place she had found him. Nova remembered how happy Gob was, calling her friend, smiling when she laughed at his jokes. Leading him on is what she did. Now he was paying for it, and the vaulite was no where in sight.

" Colin hun, how is he supposed to work if you leave him blind?" Nova asked, attempting to use her charm to get Gob even a moment of relief.

"I'm sorry I must have forgotten. A whore knows how to treat my property better than I do." Moriarty spat, stepping away from Gob, she may have set the bullseye on her but at least he wasn't hurting Gob anymore. "Get to work ya lazy zombie!"

Gob stood up, wiping the blood off his face, he looked absolutely miserable. Nova knew she should have hugged him, or helped him in some way but she knew Moriarty would punish her for it. Nova was a woman who followed her own advice, she never stuck her neck out too far.

It had been three long weeks since Yolandi had been home, Charon had never been to Megaton, in all honesty compared to the vast skyline of DC, Megaton was pretty insignificant. As soon as they stepped through the gates a woman greeted Yolandi, thanking her and handing her a water bottle. Charon scoffed, Yolandi had disarmed a bomb, saving all of them and all they can scrounge up is a bottle of water. Although watching Yolandi's reaction, it seemed like they had given her something she has always wanted. Her warm smile, her light touch on the woman's arm, all signs of true gratitude. As the walked away, a scrawny dog with a procession of children approached Yolandi.

" Dogmeat! How are you sweetheart? Who's a good dog?" She had knelt down to take the dog into her arms. It licked her face as she ruffled it's fur, all the children began talking all at once, trying to tell Yolandi of the adventures they had shared with Dogmeat. Of course all voices hushed immediately when the children caught sight of Charon. Charon couldn't help but bask in the fear that emitted from the children.

" Oh don't worry about him, he's a big sofite." Yolandi smiled, as she stood up. Charon glared at her. Soft. Soft? No one had ever called Charon soft, he was a creature of nightmares, ghouls shook in his presence. He was a killer, a demon that haunted the ninth circle of Underworld. Charon's train of thought was quickly derailed as he felt Yolandi take his hand in hers and pull him in the direction she wanted him to go. Suddenly he didn't feel like a nightmare, he felt strange, the only thing he could focus on was the feeling of her smooth skin on his ruined flesh. He didn't appreciate being led around like a toddler, but the feeling of her skin caused his complaint to catch in his throat. She was speaking but he couldn't hear anything but his own heart beat. She had let go of his hand to unlock a door, they had some how made their way to her home.

"Get it the fuck together." Charon muttered to himself. He straightened himself out to stand as tall as he could, slightly puffing his chest, he needed to be intimidating, he needed to remind this little Vaulite that he wasn't soft, that she had hired a weapon, a man capable of anything. He stepped into the house, the soft lighting a welcome change from the glaring sun. Her home was different to say the least. She had a large heart shaped bed that took up a huge amount of space on the bottom floor. She was thrown on top of it, curling herself in the blankets.

" Your room is upstairs, don't mind the robot." She sat up to gesture to the second floor, " So just get settled, there's food in the fridge, nuka cola in the machine, mi casa is your casa. I'm gonna take a nap, so uh do what you want."

Charon opened his mouth to protest, to begin to explain to her that he needed orders from her, that 'do what you want' was not a proper order, but she had fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. He knew better than to bother his employer with clarifications so he made his way upstairs to his room to get settled. Charon looked at the bed, the locker and the table. He didn't have enough belongings to need a room, he didn't need a bed, he barely slept and if he did a chair was enough. How could he keep watch the perimeter from the second floor? Perhaps she had given him the top floor room so he could have an eye over the whole house? Or was she coddling him? He felt like she was. She was giving him too much, he had not done anything to deserve her kindness and her gifts. Charon felt an anger build up in him, she was treating him like he was weak, like he was a delicate flower not the killing machine that he was. Although she was kind to everyone, why would she treat him different? Did he want her to treat him differently? Different in what way? Charon grunted as he threw his pack on the bed, he was filled with anger, and confusion. Anger at himself, anger at Yolandi. He needed to kill something.

"What do you mean make trouble? I'm getting rid of the trouble!" Yolandi raised an eyebrow at her tall companion. They were making their way to Moriarty's. Charon was never one for questioning his employer, but since she had given him the privilege.

"I am just saying, you're well liked here and killing another citizen is going to bring you unnecessary trouble." Charon tried to explain himself, but Yolandi was not hearing a word.

" They like me here, I saved this place from turning into nothing but a mushroom cloud, I think I can get away with this." Yolandi said, her logic he thought had holes in it. " I'll tell you what, I'll give my friend the new radio I got him, we'll have a drink and i'll think about my options."

As they came to the entrance of the saloon Yolandi gestured for Charon to stop and handed him the crudely wrapped radio. She adjusted the dress she changed into, patted her hair to make sure it was in place, and licked her lips. Charon gave her a strange look, which she caught.

" What? I want to make sure I look cute. What's it to you?" She asked, a light blush on her cheeks as she quickly grabbed the radio from his hands.

" Your plans, whatever they are that involve what's in this pack, are those going to be cute also?" He liked the face she made when he poked fun at her. He did have to admit, he was eager to see the 'friend' that she was so nervous to see, the 'friend' that had her wanting to impress.

As they walked into the saloon, Charon almost choked on his own saliva. Her 'friend' the man who she was all dolled up for was a fucking ghoul. Not any ghoul either, but Gob, Carol's spineless son. Charon felt a genuine urge to laugh, a smile twitching on his face. Yolandi looked at him and narrowed her eyebrows.

" Don't be rude, or ill make you wait outside. I'm sure you guys have a history, both of you being from underworld and all." Her eyes meeting his in a challenging glare.

" What? I have not said a single thing, and I will not, unless I am spoken too." Charon stated. He doubted Gob would say anything to him, Gob was scared to death of him. It was extremely evident, when his eye widened as he and Yolandi approached the bar.

" What is he doing here?" Gob asked, his voice dripping with revulsion. Charon smirked at him, maybe Gob had a spine, or at least pretended to have one in front of Yolandi.

" Never mind that, what happened to your face?!" Yolandi asked reaching forward and touching Gob's wounded face, Charon's smirk quickly disappeared.

" The usual." Gob looked down in shame, but quickly bit it back to glare at Charon. " He's the reason i'm here, him and Azrachaul!"

Charon wanted to say that it wasn't his fault it was Gob's fault for owing money to Azrachaul, it was his own fault that Charon had to chase him out of Underworld.

" He doesn't work for Azrachaul anymore, he works for me." Yolandi said trying to feign a soft smile.

"So you hold the leash now?" Gob asked, he attempted to express confusion on his face but quickly winced in pain.

" Don't say it like that. I don't like that." Yolandi said sadly, sneaking a glance at Charon.

" It's true. He's nothing but a dog that follows orders no matter what they are but if he tries to hide behind Azrachaul for all the shit he's done, he's a liar. I know he enjoyed every bit of torment he brought down on us." Gob spat. Charon could see himself picking up the ghoul by his scrawny little neck and choking him until the life had drained from his eyes, or grabbing his worthless head and bashing it into the bar, but he couldn't do anything not without Yolandi's orders. And just the way she looked at Gob he knew that would never happen, so he simply grunted at him. Yolandi had made her way around the counter, and was attempting to use a stimpack on him.

" Enough about Charon, has Moriarty gotten worse?...quit fidgeting and let me give this to you." Yolandi asked as she applied a stimpack to the side of Gob's face. Gob couldn't look her in the eye. " It's my fault isn't it? Since you helped me." Yolandi whispered, " I'm so sorry I didn't come back sooner."

"It's not like that, don't blame yourself for something I chose to do." Gob smiled weakly at her, " Did you find your dad?"

" Uh it's much more complicated than that. I'm on the right track though….. Oh Gob this should have never happened to you, you shouldn't have helped me." Yolandi said sadly, handing Gob another Stimpack. " I have a present for you though."

" Turns out Nova was right, it was the radio station not the radio. I actually helped fix it, but I still wanted to get you a new one, as a thank you for helping me." Yolandi said while Gob opened up the gift.

" Thank you friend…." Gob began to say before he was interrupted by Moriarty.

"Hello there Lass, it's been fortnight since I last saw you. Did you find your dear old dad?"

Charon looked around the bar, going to the bar late was a good idea, there was only one woman in the corner, who he assumed to be Nova.

" I did not know they made shufflers that large!" Moriarty laughed giving a quick point to looked over at Yolandi hoping she understood why he was looking at her, she nodded giving him permission to speak.

" Your charming aren't you? I heard you like to beat on ghouls." Charon stood up, speaking as he made his way around the bar. " Why don't you take a swing at me?"

Charon felt at peace once again looking down at Moriarty, all the confusion with Yolandi was the furthest thing from his mind. Now all that mattered was the horror in the old man's face.

" Is this about Gob? He's my employee, I do with him as I please." Moriarty attempted to sound strong, his illusion was easily seen through, as he slowly began to step back.

" Or is this about that little ghoul fucker? She wanted free information, aa-about her father. It was just business! I can't be gg-given away caps like that"

Yolandi giggled, " Ghoul fucker?"

By now Charon had gotten close enough to grab Moriarty, Yolandi was too was stalking towards Moriarty, a rope and bandana in her hands.

" We can talk about this? Is it caps you want? I'll let Gob go, I'll give Nova time off! Lets talk about this!" Moriarty babbled as he stepped further back. He began to reach behind him. Charon was faster, quickly grabbing Moriarty's arm, and squeezing. Moriarty screamed as the pain shooting through his arm brought him down to his knees. Yolandi leaned forward, roughly gagging moriarty with the bandana. Charon pulled Moriarty's arms back allowing Yolandi to tie his hands. At this point Moriarty had began to struggle, dropping onto his back and kicking wildly.

" Oh, oh looks like he's a kicker!" Yolandi laughed, trying to get a hold of the struggling man's legs. Her laugh immediately stopped when Moriarty's foot connected with Yolandi's finger, Charon had to smirk at the sudden mood change. Cradling the injured finger in the opposite hand, she furrowed her brows her mouth forming a snarl.

" Charon get his fucking legs!" She yelled.

Charon stomped down on Moriarty's kicking legs, until Moriarty stopped moving his legs at all, then proceeded to tie them up.

"Yolandi Why are you doing this?!" Gob yelled, beginning to pace back and forth.

" Uh, cause I like watching Charon fuck people up?" Yolandi seemed genuinely confused." I mean, Moriartys a fucking asshole, he abuses you and Nova, he tried to extort caps out of me! Geeze Gob I thought you'd be happy! I had high hopes for this! I was expecting love and happiness, maybe to get lifted in the air like a true hero!" Yolandi put her hands on her hips, and pouted. Charon left their victim on the floor, and picked up his shotgun.

" Where is this headed? What are we doing?" Charon asked, he should have had her outline the plan with him, to iron out the details. He still had a lot to learn about her, but one thing was certain this girl liked to, as she said, 'wing it.' Although Charon didn't mind chaos, he preferred a chaos that he had a hand in creating, not a one created by the psychotic unorganized whims of a vaultie.

" You guys need to stop second guessing me. See I didn't want to shoot him cause that would cause a ruckus, beating him would leave a mess, so we take him out of town and do it there. Geeze I have things under control." Yolandi smiled, Charon narrowed his eyes.

Gob had begun to say something but stopped as the front door swung open. Lucas Simms trudged in with his rifle in hand. Charon immediately raised his shotgun.

" Thought I heard someone scream. Apparently I was correct." Simms said, his voice steady and calm.

" Simm's darlin, why are you up so late? " Yolandi asked her voice smoother than silk and her smile sweeter than sugar.

"I see what your doin, I can't allow it." Simm's spoke with command, his stance strong.

"Listen Simms, darlin this can only go two ways." Her smile was gone along with the softness in her demeanor. Her face became dark, her eyes narrowed, Charon felt that he could cut the tension with a knife. He had no idea what to do, he didn't want to kill the sheriff, even Charon had to admit there was something noble about taking on justice and law in the chaotic wasteland. However if he did not lower his gun, if he stepped out of turn he would have to, to protect Yolandi.

Yolandi sighed, a serious look upon her face. " Like I said, two ways. Charon and I wrap up this abusive piece of shit in a carpet and walk him out of town. It's awful late, no one will know the difference between a rolled up carpet and Moriarty. Also when the people start asking for him you can tell them he went out on business and sadly never returned. It's a big bad wasteland who knows what might of happened. Or you take another step forward, try to pull the trigger on that gun and my friend here shoots you down. Your son left all alone, an orphan and for what? Moriarty! And of course we can't forget the rest of this town, they'll take up arms, they'll come for me and Charon which they have every right to do. Thing is we won't go quietly, hell we'll probably end up burning this place to the ground because I guarantee you I do not need an atomic bomb to wipe this town off the map."

Charon watched as the Simm's lowered his rifle, removed his hat and wiped sweat off his forehead. Even though he didn't want to kill the sheriff his finger was itching on the trigger of his shotgun. Simm's sighed placing his hat back on his head.

" This is it. Consider us even. I let this go, I don't owe you my life anymore." Simm's said quietly.

" This is justice Simms." Yolandi replied. she waved her hand signaling for Charon to lower his gun.

" Is it? Is this about Gob or Nova, or is this because Moriarty didn't give you what you wanted?" Simm's asked. Yolandi's face slightly contorted, Charon felt his spine tingle, he was going to have to shoot the old sheriff after all. However Yolandi smiled and slightly tilted her head.

" Doesn't fucking matter now, does it?" She smiled, " Now why don't you go on home."

Lucas Simms turned on his heel and headed out the door, but paused " This is your one pass little girl, you've done good by this town, but I won't turn my back again."

He continued out the door mumbling about being too old for this shit. Charon hadn't realized he was holding his breath, until Yolandi let out hers.

"Holy fuck that was intense, hahaha." She laughed

" That wasn't funny Yolandi! What if he had shot you?" Nova finally breaking her silence. Charon knew she was right, the whole situation could have gone south. He knew better than to question her again, especially in front of other people. As Yolandi began to explain herself, to try and put Nova at ease Charon turned toward Moriarty again, he had to begin to whimper pathetically. His eyes swollen from crying.

" I'll knock him out before we go." Charon said, Yolandi nodded and continued speaking to Gob and Nova. Charon landed a clean punch upon Moriarty's skull rendering the crying man unconscious. He watched as Yolandi turned up her charm, smiling touching Novas, reassuring them that her plan was going to work. Assuring them that no one would blame them, promising that if the town turned on them, or didn't swallow Simm's story she'd stand in the middle of town and yell about what she had done. Charon admired his new employer, the way she used her words to accomplish things, the way she could wrap people around her pretty little finger.

" I'll come around tomorrow, we'll have dinner, drinks, listen to the new radio! It'll be fun. Charon if you please." She smiled, as Charon dragged Moriarty's body onto a carpet, and rolled him into it. He lifted the unconscious man with ease throwing his carpeted body over his shoulder. He followed her as they made their way through the silent her out the gate, past the robot, into the ruins of an old neighborhood.

" I used to live right over there." She whispered, Charon didn't answer her, he knew she wasn't speaking to him. She turned to face him, gone was the smile, gone was her joking manner.

" Over here, this house." She walked up to the door and pressed her hand gently on it. As she pushed it open the scent of decay cut through the air, even with Charon's reduced sense of smell, it caused his stomach to drop. Yolandi turned on the light on her pipboy and walked into the house, Charon saw the source of the rotting scent, a woman's decaying corpse lay in the house's kitchen. A portion of her skull laid fragmented on the floor, a blood caked brick sat not far from her.

" Put him on his knees, in front of her." She said, softly her voice dripping in pain. Charon did as he was told, propping up the man giving him a slap across the head to wake him. Immediately Moriarty began to scream, muffled of course but loud just the same. His legs were a swollen mess the pain coursing through his body must have been unimaginable.

" Shut up. Shup up. SHUT UP!" Yolandi bellowed, pulling her pistol from her holster and pointing it Moriarty. Charon smirked, looking down the barrel of a gun worked better than most painkillers. Charon stepped back as Yolandi leaned forward burying her hands in Moriarty's hair dragging his face forward to face the decaying woman.

" You probably don't remember her do you?! She was probably another junkie to you! Some bitch who owed you money?! You knew it wouldn't go easily! You knew she'd fight me! I didn't want to kill her! I told her no never mind but she was so afraid of you! Afraid that Id tell you where she was! That you'd send someone worse! She was so scared of you, she attacked me!" Yolandi was on the verge of tears, Moriarty was already crying, his sobs muffled by the bandana in his mouth.

" She knocked the gun out of my hand, I had to use the brick, I kept hitting her and hitting her. You don't even give a fuck do you? " Yolandi's sentence ended in a barely audible whisper. She stood up straight and kicked Moriarty over, his body landing on top of the corpse. She raised her pistol and shot Moriarty in the head. She stood for a moment staring at what she had done.

" It was much more poetic in my head." She said, she turned on her heel and proceeded to walk through the door. She paused again as she stared off into the distance, quietly whispering again " I used to live right over there."

Charon stared at the woman before him, the moonlight bouncing off her skin, the light outlining the splatters of blood across her dress, she bit her bottom lip before her mouth contorted into the wicked grin that had attracted Charon from the moment he first saw it. He didn't know whether he should admire her ability to bury her emotions or feel sorry for her.

" I fucked him up, he was terrified." She grinned, a small laugh escaping her mouth.

" I helped." Charon replied.

" That you did but I scared him though, really made his final moments horrifying." She replied with a matter of fact tone.

" Smoothskin there is nothing more terrifying than a six foot ghoul stalking towards you." Charon replied as they began walking back toward Megaton. Yolandi laughed as she ran ahead and turned around.

" Alright big guy, stalk towards me." She giggled placing her hands on her hips.

Charon stopped in his tracks, was she playing a game with him? What the hell was she doing? He did as she asked, taking intimidating step after step, he got close enough to touch her, she didn't move. She looked up at him, he almost touched her. Why did he want to touch her? To ttouch her face, to wipe the drop of blood off her cheek, maybe even run his thumb along her plump bottom lip, what the fuck was he thinking. It felt strange, a horrible sickening kind of strange; Sure he wanted to put his hands on Azrachul before, to rip his head clean off his shoulders, to pummel his face until there was nothing left, to rip off and make him eat every last bit of remaining skin off of his former employers body. Pain, causing pain is what Charon knew, harm, mutilation, that is what he was trained to cause. Anger flared up inside him, he could feel the rage all the way down to his fingertips. He did not want this, he did not want these forgotten, buried urges to surface, he did not want to play games with her that is something that is done with friends. He was not her friend, he was her bodyguard. He would have to stop interacting with her, in ways that did not pertain to his duty.

" You are not afraid because you hold my contract. I cannot hurt you, you are my employer." He stated, her eyes saddened.

" Oh okay big guy, whatever you need to tell yourself." She said. "Let's go home."

He followed her all the way home.

" See Wadsworth the doggy door was a good idea." Yolandi said as she sat down on her bed, to pet Dogmeat.

" My apologies ma'm but I must point out that it still presents a security risk." The robot replied.

" Security risk? No one is going to come a knockin, I've got a robot, a rabid dog, and scary ghoul to keep the bad guys at bay." She said with a small smile.

"As you say madam." The robot replied.

" I'll go upstairs then. I will see you when you awaken." Charon said standing at the foot of the stairs waiting to be dismissed.

" Charon, why do you do that?" She was looking up at him, her gaze piercing his skin.

" What are you talking about?" Charon asked, genuinely confused.

" You start speaking to me, all fine, even making fun of me, you get sarcastic and then out of nowhere you revert back to when I first met you. You go from conversating and communicating to all cold and distant. Why do you do that?" Yolandi asked.

Charon felt the rage again, coupled with the horrible strangeness that pooled in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't going to answer her question, he wasn't even sure if he could. He wouldn't answer unless she commanded him too.

" I'll see you in the morning." Charon said, he couldn't dismiss himself, he needed her approval before continuing up the stairs.

" Goodnight Charon." She said.

He didn't look back at her as he walked up the staircase.


	3. Baths and Scars

"Charon, can I ask you something?" Yolandi asked. Charon was relieved to hear her speak, she had spent a majority of the morning sitting across from him, silently watching him clean his guns.

" Yes." Charon replied, he wanted to tease her and tell her she had already asked a question, but he had decided the night before that he would not interact with her in such a way. Although Yolandi had a way of making him forget his oaths.

" Is ghoulfucker a literal term?" Yolandi asked, Charon smirked and nodded.

" Why is it an insult? " She asked.

" Have you taken a good look at ghouls?" Charon asked, shocked by her ignorance, the smirk disappearing from his face.

" Yeah…." Yolandi replied, " You guys are an evolutionary marvel! You survive radiation levels that would normally kill others. Not to mention you must be immune to most infections considering bacteria can't live on your skin. No staph infections, or gangrenous tissue, no STD's. Fuck a sunburn that would never happen. Clearly stronger because of the accumulation of scar tissue. Your aging must have stopped, or decelerated at an amazing rate." Yolandi ranted on and on, Charon was annoyed no he was angry, it was easy for the smoothskin to speak about all the benefits of ghoulification because she wasn't afflicted by it. Charon knew he should of held his tongue, he would have never spoken out of turn to his previous employers, but since Yolandi had given him the privilege.

" Smoothskin stop." Charon said, stopping Yolandi in the middle of her speech.

" What?" She asked.

" We are walking corpses, cast aside by what's left of your bullshit society. Fucking murdered where we stand because we look like zombies. Rotface, shuffler, zombie, brain eater, all the names you smoothskin's labeled us with. Most smoothskin's won't look twice to see if we are feral or not. Benefits? Watching your family die? Living long enough to forget their faces? Forgetting what your own fucking face looked like?" Charon had stood up at this point, he had never intended to speak this much, yet he could not stop. He didn't feel like he was the one speaking, his rage had taken over.

Charon continued, " We became these monsters because we or our family could not afford to get into one of those fancy vaults, like the one you crawled out of. Fuck them anyway, I was their ticket into one." Charon stopped, he realized he had just let his past slip into the conversation, that was the last thing he wanted. Now Yolandi would pester him with questions about his past. He finally looked at Yolandi, she had stood up and backed away to the a set of lockers by the front door. He immediately regretted his outburst. She stepped forward and held out her hand, a cigarette in between her delicate fingers. He took it, as she lit the one between her lips and tossed him the lighter. He realized he hadn't scared her, she had simply gotten up to get him a cigarette. He sighed at this, the vaultie was crazy, anyone would have run for the hills if he had spoken to them in such a way.

"I apologize for my outburst." Charon said quickly.

" I don't think you've ever spoken so much…. but no don't apologize you were just telling me the truth. I'm sorry I never took into perspective the struggles ghouls face everyday. I was so wrapped up in the medical side of it, I didn't….look i'm sorry okay?" Yolandi replied.

"Apology accepted." Charon replied, those two words had never left his lips before, the sick feeling returned, and began to worsen as he watched the vaultie sit again, the cigarette held between her perfect lips. Her chest rising ever so slightly as she inhaled, her index and middle finger delicately clasping the cigarette as she pulled it away from her lips, her chest lowered, the smoke leaving her mouth and curling as it disappeared into the air. The way she softly pursed her lips as she exhaled had Charon feeling hot under his armor. It was going to kill him watching her, his strange obsession with her lips disturbed him. He understood it though, soft plump lips were something he hadn't felt against his skin in what felt like centuries.

" These things will kill you." Charon said taking his seat.

" Something has to." She replied with a small smile, she turned suddenly as the robot floated down the stairs.

" Your bath should be ready in a few minutes maddam. Though the amount of water you asked me to heat is too much for tub you have purchased." Wadsworth explained.

" That is because my sweet metal man, after i'm done I want it cleaned and prepped so Charon can have a bath as well." Yolandi said.

"Of course maddam, right away." The robot replied silently ascending the stairs.

"That's okay right? I'm not saying you smell or anything just that it was a long walk you must be tired, ya know umm... a soak in hot water is great that's all I meant by you having a bath like cause the trip, the dirt" Yolandi stumbled over her words, Charon smiled slightly at the idea that she didn't want to offend him again.

"Yes, a bath is fine." He replied butting out his cigarette in the ashtray with Yolandi following suit.

" Here I am trying to raise enough caps so that I can go find my father without any more interruptions or having to do too much scavenging but when Moira told me about the tub, about how I could soak in hot water I had to have it." Yolandie said, she spoke more about how she came across enough caps to pay for it but Charon had stopped listening. He was too busy trying to stop his mind from creating an image of his employer soaking in a tub. However his imagination would have to wait, so he could pay his undivided attention to the vaulite as she let loose her hair from the tight bun she kept it in. He was hot underneath his armor again, he was on fire. She combed her fingers through it before rustling it, it fell in soft waves past her shoulders. She noticed his gaze, blush attacked her cheeks, however she did not look away, a smile crept onto her face.

" Hair like that is impractical." Charon stated, " Your easier to grab, it could be used to drag you away."

Charon was pleased with what he said, he didn't want her realizing that he was looking at her in a way that no employee should look at his employer.

" That happened actually. A supermutant lifted me by my hair and pulled me up toward it's face and told me he was going to eat me. I was so fucking scared, but I managed to grab my knife and stab him. I stabbed him right in the eye at least twice before he dropped me." She said making stabbing gestures with her hand.

" How did you escape?" Charon asked.

" I didn't, I killed him.I had to he wasn't about to let me get away. I shot him with my rifle from point blank range. Painted the wall with his brains. I did have to hide for a couple of hours though, until the others had gone back to their posts." Yolandi explained.

" My job is to keep you safe, to defend you. That will never happen to you again." Charon said. " That being said, I feel that it would be in your best interest if I taught you how to defend yourself."

"Really Charon? That would be amazing! You can turn me into a killing machine!" She had jumped up in excitement.

" I'll try." Charon replied with a small smile.

It had been at least four hours Charon thought as he sat eating a box of fancy lad snacks. The music from her pipboy echoed through the house. He focused on chewing, the dulled taste of the food in his mouth, the feeling of it going down his throat. He wanted for at least a few minutes to not think about Yolandi. He stood up and walked through the bottom level of the house, he squatted down in front of a bookshelf filled with pre-war medical journals and textbooks. His employer was much more than just a pretty face, she was extremely intelligent when it came to science and medicine. On their way to megaton he had watched her hack terminals as if it were child's play. She helped a group of wastelanders with their injuries using the simplest of resources, hell she had deactivated a nuclear bomb. She had deadly accuracy with a rifle, and the way she could talk her way through almost every situation. He was impressed by the vaultie. He sighed realizing he had spent the last ten minutes thinking only of her.

Yolandi sat in the tub of hot water, the steam rising creating a gentle haze in the bathroom. Charon, Charon, Charon. There was no denying she admired him. His skill in battle, his calm demeanor, his intimidating stance. She absolutely loved how he walked, it had a certain swagger, especially in the way he held his shotgun casually in one hand. However she found herself wanting to see more of his arrogance, craving to see more of his mean streak. His outburst had excited her, in a way she did not know was possible. She found herself wanting more contact, wondering how his strong rough hands would feel running down her body. Yolandi placed a hand on her inner thigh, and squeezed imagining it was Charon. She bit her lip as she slid her hand up closer to the juncture between her thighs. She stifled a moan as she cupped herself in between her thighs firm and rough, in her fantasy Charon was not gentle. He would fuck like he fought. With her other hand she tangled her her fingers in her wet hair and tugged, she was glad she put her pip boy on full volume. Just as she was about to continue her fantasy there was a knock at the door, she almost screamed as she quickly gripped the edges of the tub.

" Yes?" She managed to squeak out, thoughts racing through her mind, had he heard her? Did he know what she was doing?

" I have not heard any movement, I thought maybe you had drowned." Charon said from behind the door.

" I can hear you smiling! I'm not going to drown in a tub! I'm not completely fucking useless." Yolandi snapped.

" You cannot hear a smile." Charon replied, " Anyway I was just checking on you." She heard his footsteps lead away from the door. She reached for a towel.

She could hear him on the second floor rummaging through his pack she wondered what he was looking for. She looked up from repairing her armor.

"I left everything in the bathroom. Soap, towels, even a change of clothes I can't promise the most accurate sizing though." Yolandi said with a raised voice hoping he would hear her. Charon grunted in response.

" Your welcome. Hey i'm repairing my armor did you want me to take a look at yours?" Yolandi asked. She received no response, she shrugged it off turning her attention back to her armor repair. She heard Charon descend the stairs, she began to say something but stopped when she looked up. Her eyes widened, she tried her best to make eye contact but it was impossible. Charon stood before her wearing only a towel that he held loosely in hand, his leather armor in the other. Her eyes started at his exposed hip, up his cut torso, his large biceps, strong broad shoulders corded with muscle. Her brain was imploding on itself. Her eyes roamed over his chest, the exposed muscle tissue, the remains of scarred flesh the stark white scars that decorated his body. She crossed her legs.

"The stories behind them aren't as exciting as you think they are." Charon said, he dropped the armor on the table, " I'll clean your guns in exchange for this."

As he turned around, she stared up his back, three large scars resembling claw marks adorned his back. He paused.

"Those ones however, it is a hell of a story."

With that he went back upstairs, Yolandi didn't release her breath until she heard the bathroom door shut.

"Oh come on, what's wrong with my plan?" Yolandi demanded pointing at the map displayed on her pip boy.

"Why do you need all the caps? We should go straight to Rivet city." Charon replied.

" What if they send us on a wild goose chase? Also, not that I don't trust three dog but what if his information is inaccurate? " Yolandi asked.

" Fair enough." Charon replied. " Or maybe you are putting off seeing your father again."

Yolandi's face contorted into a pained expression. Charon felt a panic surge through him, not only because the last time he saw her with a pained expression she proceeded to execute a man but because he had caused her pain. He promised her she would never be in danger again, now he was hurting her. He found himself slowly reaching across the table to touch her arm, the way she would touch his, but quickly pulled back his hand.

" Maybe you're right." She said sadly, she gave no indication that she was going to continue speaking. Charon felt horrible, he had never hurt anyone's feelings before. Or maybe he had, did it hurt people's feelings to have their arms broken or their ear cut off? He would have to ask Yolandi but first he had to rectify the situation.

" It would make sense to have caps when you see him, show him that you can be successful in a place that he thought would eat you alive." Charon said, slightly flinching awaiting her reaction. She looked up at him, and gave him a soft smile.

" Yeah exactly! Charon are you ready to take this wasteland by storm?" Yolandi asked dramatically sweeping her hand across in front of her. Charon rolled his eyes at his employers corny cringe worthy behavior, and nodded.


	4. Charon Makes a Friend

"She wasn't like that before," Gob stated, he had felt an incredible joy when he had seen the vaulite walk through the door of the saloon. She had been wearing a dress, her appearance matched the sweetness of her smile and her gentle nature. The feeling of joy had twisted and contorted into a rage when he saw the hulking ghoul behind her. Charon. Gob watched as the vicious ghoul and vaultie beat Moriarty and rolled him into a carpet. Charon effortlessly picked up the unconscious man and threw him over his shoulder. Gob knew all too well how strong Charon was. They had just walked out, and Gob could not believe what he had witnessed.

" Moriarty deserved it." Nova said, " If they get away with it, we're free."

" She wasn't like that before," Gob repeated himself.

"The vault dweller? You hardly spoke to her." Nova said.

" She disarmed the nuke. She.." Gob began.

" She was nice to you? Come on Gob; you don't even know her." Nova cut him off.

" It was him, he did something, or said something," Gob replied.

" Gob, sweetheart. She's spent an awfully long time out there, and from the looks of it, she seems to be running the show." Nova replied.

Gob sighed, Nova was right. Maybe he had created an image of Yolandi in his head from the brief encounters they had shared. He felt sick, he reached up and lightly rubbed the scar Charon had left on his head. Of course, it was hard to tell among Gob's course face, but Gob would never forget it.

"I told him, I'd get him the caps, please don't this" Gob pleaded as he backed away from the doorway. Charon had stepped into Carol's place, and the other ghouls were cowering silently in the corner of the room. Gob continued to try and get away from the massive ghoul. Carol suddenly jumped in between the two, standing in front of Gob.

" This does not involve you," Charon said calmly.

" Gob is my son! You leave him alone! Azruchaul knows Gob's good for the caps, just give him time!" Carol cried.

Gob had not known fear like this, he knew getting involved with Ahzrukhal was a mistake but he had had no other choice.

" You owe my employer. You have not paid. There are consequences."Charon said.

"Leave him alone!" Carol yelled. Gob knew she was terrified, but she stood firm in front of Charon.

" You want to get out of my way." Charon said to Carol, " I have orders"

Gob couldn't let anything happen to Carol especially for his mistake. Gob stood up straight and stepped forward and lightly placed a hand on Carol's shoulder.

" Carol please go sit down," Gob said, his throat was dry, it took all his strength to keep from shaking. He looked up at Charon, and he stared at him devoid of emotion.

" D-d-do we have to do this here?" Gob stuttered at first before composing himself; he tried his best to stay calm. If he was going to die, he was going to die with dignity. He watched as Carol made her way back to her desk, tears filling her eyes.

"Ahzrukhal wants to send a message," Charon replied, his voice was not threatening, just flat.

" Are you going to kill me?" Gob asked, his gaze never wavering.

"No. I am going to hurt you. Then you are going to pack your shit and leave underworld." Charon stated.

A muffled cry came from Carol. Gob stared at Charon, but Charon was staring at Carol. Gob couldn't read Charon's face.

" Go outside," Charon said to Carol. Carol looked up at Charon in disbelief, her eyes went from Gob to Charon and back again. When another ghoul attempted to move toward the door, Charon yelled " No. You stay here. All of you have forgotten that Azruchaul is in charge. Today will serve as a reminder."

Charon turned back to Carol; Carol was crying uncontrollably.

" I won't say it again," Charon said.

Carol got up and ran out the door. Underworld had been Gob's home for as long as he could remember and now he would have to leave. Having to see Carol, his adopted mother, in such pain and filled with such fear broke Gob's heart. The pain in his heart could never be matched. Even as Charon grabbed Gob, one hand on his head and the other on his shoulder and pushed him before slamming his face into the wall. Gob felt every punch, every devastating blow to his face and body. He couldn't open one of his eyes if he had a nose Charon would have broken it. Charon picked up Gob by the collar of his shirt and dragged him up the wall onto his feet. Gob felt his mouth fill with blood, and in the act of final rebellion he spit on Charon's face. Through his one eye he saw the massive ghoul smirk before everything went black.

Gob stood in the empty saloon and wondered what was going to happen next. Gob found a large piece of cardboard and something to write. He crudely wrote "ClOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE." He went outside to tape it to the main door, as he did he saw in the distance two figures moving towards Yolandi's house. Gob sighed before going back inside.

"He closed the bar. Put up a sign." Charon said.

" Are you serious? If he was confused about what to do, why didn't he ask?" Yolandi replied she was curled up on her bed with Dogmeat on her lap and a book in her hand.

" It's not your job to hold his hand." Charon replied the vaultie had not left the house in days. She said something about not knowing when she'll be able to relax again, but Charon knew she was procrastinating on finding her father.

" No, but I guess I assumed too much of Gob. We did just murder his boss, and from what he's told me; people here didn't like him. Maybe he's scared." Yolandi said.

" He's always been scared." Charon said.

" Hey that's not fair."

"It's the truth."

"He's kind that doesn't make him a coward," Yolandi said.

" 15 years? 15 fucking years being beaten and disrespected by Moriarty and everyone else in this town. He was bought off of slavers. He hasn't been able to do anything for himself since the day he came into existence." Charon said, Yolandi's eyes narrowed. If looks could cut Charon would have been a cubed and sliced pile on the floor.

" How dare you? Just because he doesn't have blood on his hands doesn't make him weak." Yolandi said, anger in her voice. Charon paused he felt that he shouldn't continue, but his jealousy of Yolandi's admiration of Gob urged him on.

" He wouldn't have survived. He would have died after leaving underworld if he didn't get picked up by slavers. That is weakness."

" There's strength in his resilience and his kindness Charon. Not everyone is built to kill."

Charon looked at Yolandi; she was still angry, but sadness was pushing past.

" It's just not in some people. There is a difference between killing raiders to defend yourself, but murder is a different story. Charon, I murdered Moriarty. We could have roughed him up, scared him into complying. But I...I chose to kill him in cold blood." Yolandi said.

"He deserved it." Charon replied quickly. Was she having second thoughts? Did she feel guilty? Charon couldn't help but feel like he should have questioned her more, made sure she was positive about her choice. He should have offered to pull the trigger. Yolandi was staring at him before she averted her eyes and smiled.

" I'm sad for Gob, not myself. Fuck Moriarty piece of shit tried to extort me, he put his hands on Gob on a daily basis and treated Nova worse than dirt. The only regret I have is that I killed him so quickly." Yolandi said, revulsion dripping from every word.

Yolandi continued, " I feel sad for Gob because he is a good man in a world that is so incredibly fucked. You know he was the first smile I saw in this wasteland. The first ounce of genuine kindness I experienced out here. And I'm sad for him because he hasn't been able to heal or move on. He went from living with someone who loved him to knowing nothing but pain from the moment you laid your hands on him."

Charon's eyes went wide, was she blaming him for what happened to Gob? He scoffed and sat down on the edge of the bed so she could see him clearly. She didn't move, and she held his gaze.

"He owed caps. He didn't pay. I followed orders." Charon said behind gritted teeth. Dogmeat lifted his head and bared his teeth.

" Watch your tone, Charon. Don't you growl at me." Yolandi snapped.

" I apologize. But don't blame me for something I had no say in." Charon replied, consciously softening his voice, Dogmeat lowered his head but kept his eyes on Charon.

" You look and treat him like he's nothing but a rad roach. That you have control over. You don't get to judge people Charon. When I took over your contract you told me Ahzrukhal was an evil bastard, you shot him, twice. Having you around, I know that you understand that there are people out here who don't deserve to live and there are people who need our help. Gob is one of those people. He hasn't had the chance for a fresh start, until now. Fuck him though right, for not being able to shake the years of abuse in one night." Yolandi spoke, never shaking her gaze at Charon. Charon didn't know what to say or do.

" You've got a long road ahead of you too I know that you don't want to talk about it but at least your on the road, Gob is still lost." Yolandi said.

"A road to what? Recovery? I have nothing to recover from! Don't pretend you know me." Charon said standing up, " I did my job the same thing I'm doing for you. Makes no difference to me who's in front of the barrel."

" Charon don't, you don't have to do that," Yolandi replied.

Charon grunted he didn't like how he felt. He hated when she spoke about him like she knew his life. He had nothing to recover from, nothing to reflect on. He had a job, and he did it. There was something cracking though his numbness, something gripping his throat and causing a pit in his stomach. Yolandi motioned for Dogmeat to get off of her.

" Where are you going?" Charon asked.

" To go help Gob. Finish what I started. It was silly for me to think he'd just accept Moriarty's death and take over his shit." She replied.

"No. I will. I know the business." Charon said.

" Charon where is this coming from?" Yolandi asked.

"You are right," Charon muttered.

" About what?" Yolandi asked, Charon expected a smirk of triumph or for her to begin gloating, but she looked at him with all sincerity.

" Don't push it," Charon replied.

" Consider it pulled then." She replied with a small laugh, pulling Dogmeat into her arms.

Charon gave her the blankest, bored expression he could muster.

Charon took a deep breath and sighed. He raised a hand to knock on the door of the saloon but was interrupted by Gob.

"Is Yolandi with you?" Gob asked, his voice faint from behind the door.

"No," Charon replied.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm here to help."

"Why would I want your help?"

"You need it."

"I don't want it,"God said, Charon rolled his eyes.

Charon's patience was wearing thin. Stupid, weak, rad roach of a ghoul denied his help. He was attempting to help him.

"Yolandi killed Moriarty to help you. She's given you a chance to grow, to recover." Charon explained.

Gob opened the door and looked up at Charon. Charon knew Gob was attempting to put on a face of annoyance, but he was nervous.

"Recover from what? Grow into what?" Gob asked.

"It's what she said. We can do that together." Charon ground out attempting to sound sincere.

"You're going to kill me aren't you?" Gob said sadly.

Charon's eye's widened.

"NO What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're talking about helping me recover. I don't understand where this is coming from? Your going to murder-suicide us. You've finally lost your shit." Gob said.

Charon scoffed and pushed his way past Gob and into the saloon.

"What do you want?! Where is Yolandi?!" Nova shrieked from the top of the stairs.

" I AM NOT here to hurt anyone!" Charon said raising his voice.

Gob ran over to the flight of stairs and held his ground in a vain attempt to protect Nova. Charon took a deep breath and held his hands in front of him.

" This is why I am here to help. You think I came here to kill you and Nova and what do you do? You let me push past you and then? Stand in front of Nova. What's the plan Gob? While I gore you to death it gives her enough time to escape? I don't even have to finish you off before I grab her and snap her neck like a twig." Charon hoped his words would help Gob understand that he did need Charon's help. Gob and Nova stared at Charon mouths open.

"You're not going to kill us?" Nova whispered.

"No. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't without Yolandi's order." Charon replied, " And she loves you both."

"Want a beer?" Gob asked softly, giving in.

Charon stood outside the walls of Megaton with Gob. Gob held a shotgun loosely in his hands. Charon had spent the better part of the day teaching Gob how to shoot a handgun.

"Why isn't Nova here?" Gob asked.

"Because when she told me she could and would shoot anyone I believed her. Yolandi getting rid of Moriarty freed her. You? Not so much." Charon replied.

"No one in this town respects me, even if you did help me I'd be run out of here in a month," Gob said sadly.

"Only if you let them. You control how people treat you. You're a pre-war ghoul for fuck's sakes. You've been through worse than some backwater smoothskins. " Charon said.

"That's easy for you to say, you're fucking huge. You could punch clean through someone's head." Gob said.

"That's what the gun is for. It doesn't care if you're' strong or if you're afraid. You pull that trigger, everyone on either side of it is equal." Charon said. "Well, not a behemoth or a stubborn mutant. But you get my point."

Gob nodded, Charon showed Gob how to hold the gun, how to shoot and how to reload.

"Your aim doesn't have to be true. If you're close enough, just aim in the general direction of whoever is fucking with you." Charon said. Gob nodded. Gob fired off a few rounds, and he couldn't help but smile. Charon watched as Gob shot the gun and attempted to control the recoil. Charon had to admit; Gob had made excellent progress, and Charon had had fun with him. After some more practice, Charon decided to call it a day.

"Thank you for this Charon," Gob said.

"We aren't done yet. Tomorrow we outfit the saloon, day after that you reopen. " Charon replied.

"Still this means a lot to me," Gob said.

Charon's eyes narrowed.

"I almost killed you. Why are you like this? What are you thanking me for? I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Yolandi. I almost killed you. I ruined your life." Charon barked.

"Azruchaul did. If he had stabbed me, I wouldn't have blamed the knife." Gob replied.

"It's not the same."

"We have a lot more in common than you think. We were both stuck. You with Ahzrukhal, me with Moriarty." Gob said.

"You chose to be trapped. I didn't." Charon replied, attempting to steady his voice.

"Different shackles," Gob said.

"Enough talking. I'm going back." Charon said.

"I talk to Nova about things I've been through. It helps." Gob said.

" You too? You don't know me. Yolandi doesn't know me! I have nothing to talk about! I have nothing to recover from! ENOUGH!" Charon yelled. He expected Gob to flinch or step back instead he did the exact opposite.

Gob sighed in frustration. He placed the shotgun on the ground. Gob opened his arms and moved toward Charon.

"What are you doing?" Charon said, he stepped back his face contorting in anger.

" I forgive you. Come here." Gob said.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Stop what you are doing." Charon growled.

"Let this happen, big guy." Gob said, " We've made a lot of progress today."

" I'll rip you apart," Charon warned. " You should be punching me, not trying to hug me."

Gob took the final step and hugged Charon. Charon felt like vomiting. No one touched him like this. Ever. Charon wrapped his arms around Gob; he began squeezing with all his strength. He could crush the life out of Gob, but Charon quickly stopped. He hugged Gob back. Gob pulled back.

"Were you about to kill me?" Gob asked.

"No one touches me," Charon replied, as he began to walk away.

"Sorry then," Gob replied.

"I don't apologize for what I did to you," Charon said

" I know, but I forgive you," Gob said Charon stopped walking.

Gob continued " I got a new lease on life. I need to move on and forgiving you is part of it. It's not about you."

"Good," Charon replied.

" We might even be friends one day," Gob said. Charon laughed.

Yolandi sat in Gob's saloon, sipping on a Nuka-cola watching Charon install a metal bar underneath the bar's table top.

"Do we need to be armed to the teeth like this?"Nova asked.

"If you want respect. I'd say so."Yolandi replied.

She wasn't going to say it, but she felt so incredibly happy to see Charon interacting with Gob. Watching them work together and listening to Charon consistently explain to Gob that he needed to demand respect. In his abrassive way, Charon was helping Gob feel worthy of respect and helping his incredibly low self-esteem.

"Look at our boys," Nova said with a small laugh.

Whether Charon liked it or not, he was going have a new friend.


End file.
